Fruit juice extractor



June 28, 1949. H. c. JOHNSON 2,474,399

FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed Dec. 18, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 28, 1949. H. c. JoHNsoN 25474399 FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed Deo. 18, 1944 2 Sheets-'Sheet 2 yvan Patented June 28, 1949 UNITED STATES TENT FFICE 16 Claims. l

The invention relates generally to devices for squeezing the juice from fruits and more particularly to a device or juice extractor for use with citrus fruits such as oranges.

The general object of the invention is to provide a juice extractor in which a pair of squeezing elements are adapted to be relatively moved into squeezing relation by a manually operable lever, and in which the relative movement of the squeezing elements with the desired pressure may be attained with a minimum movement of the lever.

More specifically, it is an object to provide an extractor of the foregoing character in which the squeezing elements are movable to widely separated positionss to facilitate insertion of the fruit, and in which the squeezing elements may be brought into squeezing position with sufficient pressure by movement of the manually operable lever through less than three-quarters of a full turn. y

Another object is to provide an extractor of the foregoing character in which the manually operable lever is movable from a rearwardly extending position for the open position of the squeezing element to a forwardly and downwardly extending position for the closed position of the elements where the user can conveniently exert a maximum pressure on the lever.

A further important object is to provide an extractor of the foregoing character in which a rapid movement of one of the squeezing elements is effected, for a given rate of movement of the lever, when the squeezing elements are adjacent the open position, and an increased leverage is attained, when the elements are adjacent the closed position, to provide a maximum squeezing pressure for the force exerted by the user.

Still another object is to provide a novel juice extractor which comprises parts of simple and rigid construction, requiring relatively simple machining operations to bring them to the desired accuracy, and may be assembled into a compace, neat appearing device.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of a juice extractor embodying the features of the invention and showing the parts of the device in their closed or squeezing position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1 L

(Cl. 10G-42) 2 but showing the squeezing elements in their open position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View taken on the line 6 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

A juice extractor embodying the features of the invention is of a type adapted for domestic use and particularly suited for removing the juice from citrus fruits by squeezing half a fruit at a time. The extractor may be of a type having a vertically movable squeezing element adapted to coact with a fixed lower squeezing element on which the fruit is placed for the squeezing operation. The movable squeezing element, which is the upper element in this case, is adapted to be carried by a bar upon which a rack is cut for operation by a manually rotated pinion.

In the squeezing operation, it is desirable, during the final part of the squeezing movement, to exert considerable pressure on the fruit to remove the maximum amount of juice therefrom. It is also desirable, in an extractor of this type, to move the upper squeezing element a substantial distance from the yfixed or lower squeezing element in order to facilitate insertion and removal of the fruit and cleaning of the parts. In order to provide the desiredextent of movement of the movable element, it has heretofore been necessary to provide a pinion which must be rotated through more than one revolution in order to provide the necessary extent of opening and at the same time provide sufficient pressure during the final part of the squeezing movement. Since rotation of the pinion is eieeted by means of a hand lever, operation thereof through more than one revolution is somewhat cumbersome and inconvenient.

The present invention provides a structure whereby the -hand lever need be turned only through a portion of one revolution in order to effect the desired movement of the movable squeezing element and still obtain the desired pressure. In the present structure, the movement of the parts is such that the movement of the movable squeezing element when adjacent its open position is relatively large for a given movement of the hand lever, and when the squeezing element approaches the ultimate squeezing position, increased leverage is provided to give the desired pressure. In other words, the leverage between the hand lever and the movable squeezing element is varied during the movement of the parts to give the maximum pressure when the movable squeezing element reaches its lowermost position and a maximum rate of movement when the movable element reaches its uppermost or open position. Such movement is effooted by a pinion and rack bar, as in many prior extractors, but the pinion is so mounted and the hand lever is so attached thereto that a variable rate of movement and pressure is attained.

As shown in the drawings, the preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a base I provided with feet I I adapted to rest upon a table or the like. The base Il) is provided with a forwardly extending tray portion I2 adapted to support a glass' or other receptacle to receive thev juice as it is squeezed from the fruit, Mounted on the rear portion of the base Ill-is a hollowVv upright I3 secured to the base. as by screws It'. While the base I0 and upright i3 could be manufactured as a single unit, it is preferable from a manufacturing standpoint to manufacture them separately and. secure them` together as shown. The upper portion of the uprightisprovided` with a forwardly extending bracket. por tion I5 supporting a removable cup having aspout I1; through which the.v juice is; directed into the glass or receptacle supportedorr the tray portion t2. The, cup I6 removably; supports a lower or fixed. squeezineelement 2t of conical form and ony which a. half fruit is adaptedtov be placed with the cut tace againstthesqueezingelement 2t.

lllocatecI above. the. upright is a movable head 21.. having aY forwardly extending portion 22 in which, anY upper squeezing; element 23 is secured as' by a Screw 2-4. The. upper squeezing element 23' is likewise conical tocooperate with the lower element and the two areadapted to squeeze the halfr fruitl therebetweenU by movement of the head2-I.

Movement of the head 2i is preferably effected by: a. rack bar 255 carrying the head and secured theretoas bye pin-2,6.; The rack. har 25. extends downwardly through theupright I3 and is guided for vertical movement therein by.` means. ofv ways 21 formed in ther upper portion of the upright. The` rack bar; 2g5-.is adapted to: beactuated by means. or a pinion 301 rotatably mounted in the upright I3'-andmeshingz with the rack. The pinion 3B@ is;` adapted to. be manually rotated to effect the desired movement-of' the head" 2 I If; the; pinion 3l);` were mounted for rotation about its own axis., itwould havel to be of relativelyu large. Size. to providethe necessary movement forf the head Zit, if the'- movement of the hand lever for operating` the pinion is to be through a distance lessv than one revolution. However,` with a pinion ofisuc-h sizeand with such movement o f' the hand lever, too great a force would have-'to beplaced on the hand lever by the user in order to provide the desired squeezing pressure, andthe averagehousewife would be unable to.. exert such a pressure. On the other hand'. if the pinionwerereduced in size to provideja greater leverage, the headlZI would not be movedvv a sufli'cient distance with movement of the-hand lever throughilessithan one revolution.

The present invention provides a mounting for the pinion which gives the. desired`V leverage through the nal part'of the squeezing movement and yetthe` desired extent of opening for the head 2 If. Tov this enel the pinion 3ft is providedI with a shaft 3.5; positioned eccentrically of the pinion so that the e-iective radius of the pinion, i'. e., the distance from the axis of the shaft: .sie tothe pitch line of the teeth oi"- the raclr bar 2251, is small. when the squeezing elements` are` in closed position to provide the desired power, but increases as the head 2| moves upwardly so as to provide the desired extent of opening. To support the pinion for such movement, means is provided comprising a yoke 32 pivotally supported at its upper end by means of a pivot pin 33 extending through the upright I3. The arms of the yoke 32 extend downwardly on opposite sides of the pinion and rotatably support the shaft SI. Since rotationi oi" the pinion 3B and shaftV 3'I moves the sha-rt toward and from the rack 25, with the pinion remaining in mesh therewith, the yoke 32 thus will be caused to swing abouti-ts pivot pin 33. Since the yoke 32 will not alone serve to hold the pinion in mesh with the rack, means is provided for this purpose which. inthepresent instance comprises a pair of spaced abutments 34 each having a Vertical edge 315 adapted to engage annular surfaces provided by disk-like portions 36 formed on opposite facessoithe pinion 3l); outside` of the teeth thereof., Since the; vertical edge surfaces 3 5 of the aloutments 3d'. areparallelto the direction of". movement oi` the.- rack-,125.; the pinion is constantly heldin-mesh with the latter; In their preferred form, the abutments 3.4 are formed on a cojver'plate` flfadapted; to-close an` opening in the.rearl face oi,Y the` upright I3,L thel opening beine; Droyiddc to facilitate assembly of the. pinion 3.o, and; its supporting yoke;- 32. The. cover plate may be attached to the vupright lfandvsecured in. place as by screws 38.

To eeot rotationgot the'shaft 3l: and pinion 3.3;, the-shaft extends through ay slotv All,I in-one.

- side walt-oi; the uprigl-itl I3, and-on its outer end carries a. hand lever- 4I; The s101140. is preferably.. formed to extend. to, the rean edge ofv the side.x wall of, the upright. I3' and is adapted-to be closed by agsmall; lug-` portion 42 formed on the. cover plate3'I.

In addition to the variation in pressure and, rate ofimovementrofthe head 2| obtained by the changein effective radiuspf. the. pinion due to. the eccentricity of the. shaftil I, the, arrangement oi the. parte provides a further factor tending to attain.thisiresult` It. will be evident.. that when. the.l handflevei:` M is inits,v.ertical position and the head 2l is being., moved downwardly, the.V shaft 3l. isthen in the, upper part of the pinion. Whenthe. pinion is rotated intoitsnal squeezing position., as. il-lustratecity inFig. 1, the-.shaft 3l. is. then adjacent the lower part. ofthe pinion. However, during, such` movement., the shaft 3ll re-l mains., aty substantially the` same level since it cannot move vertically other than. the slight.`

movement ,due to. the. swinging .moi/tement of the.

bracket. 32.'. Therefore.. the. pinion .ha.s in effect.

the squeezingv movement,` while the head maybe.

lifted to a relatively wide open position by the. construction ofv the mechanism.. Preferably, the

hand' lever 4I is so connected to theshaft 3| that it extends rearwardly and downwardly when the head is in the fully openposition and forwardly land downwardly when in its closed position. Thus the hand lever 4I is at a yconvenient angle for the user to exert a large manual pressure on the hand `lever during the final squeezing movement. The

particular arrangement `and ratios of the parts of the mechanism are such that full movement of the head may be imparted thereto by swinging lthe lever d! through an angle somewhat less than tatably and swingably supporting said pinion on an axis eccentrically thereof, whereby the distance from said axis to said rack varies to provide rapid movement of the movable element when adjacent the open position thereof and increased pressure between the elements when the movable element is adjacent its closed position.

2. An extractor comprising fixed and movable squeezing elements, a, rack connected to the mov- ,able element, a pinion meshing with the rack, a

hand lever connected to said pinion for rotating it, and means for supporting said pinion on an axis variable in its spacing from the axis of movement of said rack to increase the rate of movement of the raclz when the movable element is adjacent its open position and to increase the pressure between the elements when the movable element is adjacent its closed position.

3. An extractor comprising a fixed squeezing element, a movable squeezing element, a rack connected to said movable element for moving it between open and closed positions, a pinion, means for holding said pinion in mesh with said rack, a

hand lever yfor rotating said pinion, andV means supporting said pinion for rotation about an axis eccentrically of said pinion, said supporting means being movable toward and away from said rack upon rotation of said pinion, to vary the effective radius of said pinion between a maximum when said movable element is in its open position and a minimum when said movable element is in its closed position.

4. An extractor comprising a fixed squeezing element, a movable squeezing element, a reciprc'cable` member connected to said lmovable element for moving it between open and closed positions, a manually rotatable member adapted to eiiect reciprocation of said reciprocable member, and means supporting said rotatable member for constant driving engagement with said reciprocable member and for rotation about an axis movable toward and away from said reciprocable member upon rotation of said rotatable member, to vary the leverage ratio between said members to provide the maximum leverage when the movable element is adjacent its closed position and the maximum rate of movement when the movable element is adjacent its open position.

5. An extractor comprising xed and movable squeezing elements, a rack connected to the movable element, a pinion, a hand lever for rotatingv sure exerted by and the rate of movement of the mova'ble element.

6. An extractor comprising fixed and movable squeezing elements, a rack connected to the movable element, a pinion, a hand lever for rotating the pinion, means for holding the pinion in mesh with the rack, and a pivotally suspended yoke rotatably supporting the pinion at the free end of the yoke on an axis eccentric of the pinion to vary by the rotation oi the pinion the effective radius of the pinion and thereby vary the pressure exerted by and the rate of movement of the movable element.

'7. An extractor comprising a frame including a xed squeezing element, a movable squeezing element above said xed element, a rack bar mounted for vertical movement in said frame and carrying said movable element, a pinion, a hand lever xed to said pinion for rotating it, an abutment secured to said frame for holding the pinion in mesh with said rack bar, a'nd a pivotally suspended yoke in said frame rotatably supporting the pinion at its free or lower end on an axis eccentric of the pinion whereby rotation of the pinion by the hand lever varies the effective radius of the pinion to thereby vary the pressure exerted by and the rate of movement of the movable element.

8. An extractor comprising fixed and movable squeezing elements, a rack connected to the movable element, a pinion having a shaft secured thereto and extending from opposite faces thereof Aon an axis eccentric to the pinion, means mount- -ing said shaft for movement bodily relative to said rack, means for holding the pinion in mesh with said rack, means for supporting said pinion on said shaft whereby rotation of said pinion varies the effective radius thereof relative to said rack, and a hand lever secured to one end of said shaft for rotating the pinion.

9. An extractor comprising xed and movable squeezing elements, a, rack connected to the movable element, a pinion for moving the rack, swingable means supporting the pinion on an axis eccentric thereof whereby rotation of said pinion varies the effective radius thereof relative to the rack, a hand lever for rotating the pinion, said pinion having an annular surface concentric with the teeth thereof, and an abutment bearing against said surface to hold the pinion in mesh with said rack.

`10. An extractor comprising a hollow frame including a fixed squeezing element, a vertically movable rack mounted in said frame and carrying a movable element, a pinion mounted within said frame and having a shaft positioned eccentrically in the pinion and extending externally of the frame through a slot in one side thereof, a yoke pivoted within said frame and supporting said shaft on opposite sides of said pinion, a hand lever mounted on the outer end of said shaft, said frame having an opening through which said pinion may be assembled, and a cover plate for said opening having an abutment for holding the pinion in mesh with said rack.

l1. An extractor comprising fixed and movable squeezing elements, a rack carrying the movable element, a pinion, a hand lever for rotating the pinion, means for holding the pinion in mesh with said rack, and means supporting said pinion for rotation on an axis eccentric to the pinion to vary the eiective radius of the pinion relative to the rack, said axis being positioned to cause the pinion to move bodily in a direction opposite to the movement of the rack during the i'lnal part of the astiene 'squeezing movement Ito lprovide kla diierential movement relative to the rack andthereby inorease the'squeezing pressure. l A A J 12. rA'n extractor comprising xedfand movable squeezing elements, a rack carrying. the movable element, a pinion, a hand leverv -forrotati-ng the Apinion, meansffor holding the `pinionin Ineshwith said-rack, and means supporting said. pinion for rotationon an axis eccentric to the 'pinion to Vary the effective radius of the4 pinion relative rto the rack, saidfaxis *being` solpositioned that therotation1 of the pinion during the final .part oi the squeezing movement effects bodily movementof the lpinion Jin the opposite direction, to the -movement of the rack and atthesame time decreases 'the effective radius of the-pinion relative to the racktofincrease-thesqueezing pressure. Y

13. Anextractor comprising fixed and .movable squeezing'elements, a Arack.icoismected to the movable-element and reciprocable along.v an` axis parallel `to 4theplane oiits teeth ends, a pinion, a handflever for-rotating the,pinion,means --for holdling; the pinionin meshswithvthefrack, a support element for said pinion connected thereto eccentrically thereof andshiftabletovvard and: away j from the Iaxis ofv movement of said rack tofvary `|by rotationof the A:pinionrtl'ie effective radius of 'the pinion and thereby vary the pressure exerted by andthe rate of movement of the movable element.

. i4- An-extractorcomprising fixed and 'movable elements, a rack connected to themovableelement and mounted-tor movement along axed path, adrivingpinion adaptedto mesh with said rack, meansincluding agsha-it for mounting said pinion -forrotationabout anfa'xris eccentric tothe pinion, means for 4holding, said pinion inniesh with said rack` andfor shiitingfthe axis of yrotation icri? said pinion upon rotationof said pinion, .Whereby rotation of said pinion varies the effective radius thereof relative to .said rack, anda hand lever secured to one end offsaid shaft for rotating 4the pinion.

15. A juice extractor compr-ising-asup-port/ing `frame, axed element on said frame, alrelatively stationary squeeze 'element mounted 'on l'sa-id ``frame, a movable squeeze element. adapted tov cooperate with said relatively stationaryfsqueeze element. a driven actuating elementwreci-precable vertically on saidrame and ymarrying said-relatively movable squeeze elernent, `an actuating shaft rotatably and shiftably mounted on said frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, `said driven actuating element hav-ing a vrackv thereon llo with arplurality offteeth lying ina verticalplane .parallelto the .planeof movement of said driven actuating element and to said horizontalaxis a driving elementl mounted eccentricall'y on and rotatable with said shaft and` having a pinion portion engageable in driving relation. with said rack, and a surfaceportionr concentric With Asaid pinion portion and -enga'geable with said elementto maintain said pininfportion engaged Withsaid rack `andfto vary the distance of said shaft from said rack,. as said shaft Iis rotated. saids'ur'iace and pinion portions being arranged on said `shaft ftocau'se saiddriven element to ibe moved with a relatively rapid movement throughoutthe initialportion of its squeezing stroke and a relatively 'slow'movement and increased .pressure througholtf'the terminaliportion of its squeezing Stroke, and a manually operblehal'dlvei car'- rici @maia shaft forY rotating sai'ljsha'ft.

16. 'A juice extractor comprising a vsupporting frame, a 'relatively stationary Vsqueeze element mounted' thereon, a movable squeeze element adapted t0 'cooperate "with Vsaid 'relativelyf stational'y squez' lment, a IdiVn 'actuating elrlt reciprocable vertically on said Trame and Acarrying said relatively indi/'able.slezefeleinenh an actu- 'ating shaft rotatably and 'sli'iftably mounted on Said Haine, saidV driven actuating element having a rack thereon, means on said 'shaft including concentric pinion an'd bearing s'race portions "bbth bf Which alle `CCntCl1y 's'p'sd bit vsaid "Shaft, "anda lflXell be'a'n'gfslfac n Said ame'engage'd by 'Sa'i'd bearngsfac'e for 'maintaining sai'd 'pinion .portion in mesh With Vsaid ra'Ck and for varying 'the 'distance 'dfqsaidfs'hft 'from safd'rack as said shaft is rotated, whereby upon rotation` of said shaft Said pinion Vportiofi drives said 'driven actuating element at 4a .variable lneanvel'bcity 1113011 'rotation Of, Said. 'shaft at av constant angular velocity,andfafmanually operable hand lever von 'said shaft 'cfor rotating said shaft to m'ove said driven actuating 'element through a Vsqueezing stroke.

C'. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following, referenlces are'of recordin` the 'file of` this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTSv Number Name Date4 752,884 LCarmicn'ae-1 Feb. 123, 1904 2,131,440V Johnson septwli'l., yisti: 

